Stac Pollaidh (which is often anglicized as Stac Polly) is a
craggy outcrop that rises above a desolate moor in the far northwest of
Scotland (to the north of Ullapool). Bristling with rock pinnacles, it has been
likened to a gigantic porcupine.
The mountain is composed of rocks that are extremely old,
and those at its base are older still. It is composed of Torridonian sandstone
that dates from around 1,000 million years ago – long before dinosaurs roamed
the planet.
The Lewisian gneiss that forms the plateau is one of the
most ancient rocks known in the world, being some 2,800 million years old.
Very few people live round here. There are only about 12,000
inhabitants in an area of around a million acres in extent. The population was
once higher, although life round here can never have been easy. The Highland
Clearances of the 18th/19th centuries turned thousands of
people off the land to make room for deer and sheep.
Despite the remoteness of this region, Stac Pollaidh is not
difficult to reach and climb, although some of the pinnacles are only accessible
to experienced and properly equipped rock climbers. The views from the higher
slopes are magnificent and extensive – on a fine day, that is!
Stac Pollaidh is one of several sandstone remnants in this
area, although the others look somewhat different because they retained their
caps of quartzite, which give them a rounded appearance. Because Stac Pollaidh’s
cap has been eroded away, the sandstone has itself been subject to erosion that
has produced its jagged skyline.
The area has been designated a national nature reserve that
includes wild moorland, scree slope and bog. The Inverpolly Nature Reserve is
the second largest in Great Britain (after the Cairngorms).
Plants to be found here at higher levels include dwarf azalea,
starry saxifrage, cowberry, and alpine forms of club-moss, lichen and fern.
Lower down one can find sea pinks, rock speedwell and alpine hawkweed.
Animal life includes red and roe deer and wildcats. Bird
life includes golden eagles and – in the lochs - black-throated divers.
This is a truly wild landscape that cannot fail to impress.
© John Welford
© John Welford
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